News: 1989 Corvette ZR-1 "Snake Skinner" Sells at 2009 Barrett-Jackson

[Hadi-ZR1]

This 1989 Corvette ZR-1 was the personal driver for GM's John Heinricy who worked extensively to make the car lighter. The "Snake Skinner" Corvette was powered by a special Black version of the LT-5 Mercury Marine V8 and featured a host of performance upgrades. Rick Hendrick of NASCAR fame was on the stage during the bidding and purchased the GM Heritage car for $160,000. :bang
With a 475hp LT5 V8 and less weight, this vehicle became a legend at GM Performance.
Includes Mercury Marine special built black motor.

 

[Hib Halverson]

The Snake Skinner, was not John Heinricy's personal driver. While it is true John conceived the project, did some of the testing and drove the car often, it was not his personal vehicle.

Also, the Snake Skinner did not have one of the "Black Widow" engines (aka "Black Motor") in it. Yes, the Skinner's original engine was black like the real Black Motors, but it was not one of the eight special engines which came out of the short-lived colaboration between Mercury Marine and Doug Rippie Motorsports. All eight of those engines were installed into privately-owned cars after they were purchased.

Initially the Snake Skinner's engine was a modified LT5 which, initially, made about 400-hp and much of that power came from no cats and DynoMax mufflers. Later, a second version with ported top end, different cams and headers made 475-horsepower. The Snake Skinner's enhanced performance came from the 475-hp, weight reduction and a 3.90:1 axle ratio.

I didn't realize that Mr. Hendrick bought the car, but it's nice to hear the Snake Skinner has a good "home". I drove that car several times during the period that it was an active development vehicle and the combination of the lower mass, the extra power, the shorter gears and its minimal acoustic insulation made it a hoot to drive and, by early-90s standards, an incredible performers considering it was near-stock in many ways.

 

[Rob]

You can learn more about the Snake Skinner ZR-1 from one of Hib's articles here:

Corvette Action Center | Tech Center | Corvette Research Center | History of the C4 ZR-1 Snake Skinner Corvette

 

[ZRWON]

Hib, wasn't there some story about the name "Snake Skinner" being created to mean VIPER slayer and also to give credit to a guy named Skinner who was a talented Mercruiser performance engineer on the LT5 effort?
Also, Hib, thanks for your updated info posted here. I always enjoy your postings about our toys!!! :BOW

 

[Hib Halverson]

It is true, that Scott Skinner worked at Mercruiser but it is not true that the "Snake Skinner" was named after him. Scott was not an "engineer" but was a technician who worked on the "LT5 Gang" at Mercruiser in the assembly and test parts of the program.

The car was named because of the project's intent which, as you stated correctly above, was to explore a ZR-1 with less weight and more power which could "skin" a Viper.

 

[ZRWON]

It is true, that Scott Skinner worked at Mercruiser but it is not true that the "Snake Skinner" was named after him. Scott was not an "engineer" but was a technician who worked on the "LT5 Gang" at Mercruiser in the assembly and test parts of the program.

The car was named because of the project's intent which, as you stated correctly above, was to explore a ZR-1 with less weight and more power which could "skin" a Viper.

Hib, Thanks for the explanation. I tucked that tidbit in my BEAST2/JVD trivia file. :cool

 

[WhalePirot]

Hib, thanks for your updated info posted here. I always enjoy your postings about our toys!!! :BOW

Ditto that, Hib.

 

[Hib Halverson]

You guys are welcome. Glad to be of service.

 

[LGAFF1]

SnakeSkinner had Siamesed runners, Seondaries removed, retimed cams, no cats, custom headers, 3.90 rear end, and single mass fly wheel. As stated weigth reduction was the key factor in performance, per Sports Car International May, 1992 car even had Carbon fiber brakes.

Also the engine pics used in this mag showed the standard powdercoat, not the black krinkle.

Awesome car.

 

[ZRWON]

Anyone ever seen or know of the loc on one of these "SnakeSkinners"? I havn't heard of any of these in years.
Wonder what current market value is for one of these. So the story goes on this one, "the ZR-1 was shipped directly from the factory to Morrison's where he custom painted and did all his thing and finally after about 9 months the owner picked up his SnakeSkinner aka Morrison kit."

 

[jonszr1]

boy i really like that front spoiler. i wonder if one can still buy one like it

 

[Brett]

It is true, that Scott Skinner worked at Mercruiser but it is not true that the "Snake Skinner" was named after him. Scott was not an "engineer" but was a technician who worked on the "LT5 Gang" at Mercruiser in the assembly and test parts of the program.

The car was named because of the project's intent which, as you stated correctly above, was to explore a ZR-1 with less weight and more power which could "skin" a Viper.

This confuses me. Wasn't the Viper first released in '92? It says this car is an '89? Were these mods done later on?

 

[Hib Halverson]

While the Viper went to production for 1992, the project that developed it, began much earlier. At GM, Corvette Development was aware of what Chrysler was doing and the Snake Skinner was a study what could be done to improve ZR-1 performance and decrease its weight.

 

[Brett]

While the Viper went to production for 1992, the project that developed it, began much earlier. At GM, Corvette Development was aware of what Chrysler was doing and the Snake Skinner was a study what could be done to improve ZR-1 performance and decrease its weight.

I suppose I do recall hearing that the Viper had an unusually long gestation period. Anyway, that's pretty cool that these projects were in such competition even at the early pre-production stages.

I guess I have never really viewed the ZR-1 and Viper as competitors. Each seemed to play to a different niche. Although now that I look at it, they were the two closest things to each other. But I never got the impression GM tried to go after the Viper with the ZR-1. Perhaps I missed it though?